THE ONE WITH ALL THE TEASING.
EPISODE THIRTEEN.

♡

Their new tiny apartment was a mess, which was stressing Zara out with the constant overflowing boxes and lack of space. Maybe Zara had been naive to think that they would have been back in their apartment again by now.

"Oh, hey, Mon," said Phoebe. "Do you still have old blouses and dresses from high school?"

"Yeah, I think I have them around here somewhere," Monica replied. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that maternity clothes are so expensive," Phoebe said.

Rachel came home then, sparing Monica from saying anything else.

"Hey, Rach, I made a pile of your stuff on this side of the room," Monica told her. "Next to Zara's. If both of you could just..."

Rachel grunted, throwing her bag as Zara rose her eyebrows.

"Throw your purse at it," Monica finished.

Sinking down on the armchair next to Zara, Rachel folded her arms across her chest as Zara patted her head in understanding.

"Bloomingdale's eliminated my department," Rachel told them.

Phoebe gasped.

"No!" Zara exclaimed, eyes wide as they fell on her friend.

"Oh my God!" Monica said. "Are you out of a job?"

"No, but they stuck me in personal shopping," Rachel explained. "Which is just a huge step down."

"That sounds like something you'd like," Zara pointed out.

"Personal shopping?" Phoebe questioned. "What is that? Like, where you walk around with snooty rich people and tell them what to buy?"

"Uh-huh," Rachel confirmed.

"That sounds great!" Phoebe told her.

"Hey," Joey greeted as he opened the front door, heading straight to the refrigerator.

"Um... excuse me," Monica said, spotting him. "We switched apartments. You can't eat our food anymore. That gravy train has ended."

From the bottom of the refrigerator, Joey stood as he held a chicken drumstick. "There's gravy?"

"Only if you give us our apartment back," Zara told him.

"If you have the big apartment, then you have to deal with people coming over all the time," Monica explained to Joey as she confiscated the chicken from him. "That fridge has got to be stocked, okay? It's your apartment now."

Joey didn't seem to be listening as he stood on the stool and stepped onto the counter, searching the top of the cupboards for something.

"What are you doing?" Monica questioned.

"I think I left a doughnut up here," Joey answered.

Zara shook her head at him, knowing Joey would likely end up finding a doughnut that one of them would have to take away from him before he ended up with food poisoning.

Later on, Zara ended up frustrated with the apartment, where she hadn't been able to concentrate on her writing with all the mess. So, she headed down to the coffee house to catch up.

When Chandler came in, she scowled at her boyfriend.

"Hello to you too," Chandler replied.

As he sunk down on the sofa, he wrapped an arm around her with a sweet kiss on her cheek, hoping that it would be enough for a smile. Instead, Zara simply turned her head to glare at him.

"Blocked again?" Chandler guessed, staring down at her laptop screen.

"Yeah, you could say that," said Zara. "Thanks to you."

"To me..."

"You stole our apartment—"

"Monica and Rachel lost a bet," Chandler reminded her. "And you can still use the apartment to work. I'll even buy you a desk for your old room."

It was sweet, but not what Zara wanted. "Or you could just give us the apartment back."

"Not gonna happen," Chandler told her.

Turning, Zara grabbed her boyfriend's arm that was still hung around her shoulders, gently shoving it back towards him. The gesture only amused Chandler, who shuffled closer to her with the aim to agitate her further.

"You're still doing this?" Chandler questioned.

"No apartment, no girlfriend," Zara told him.

"Hold on," said Chandler. "You said no sex. I can at least kiss you."

Zara's head twisted to face him again, narrowing her eyes at him. As much as she wanted to kiss him, she knew it was a trap that would result in Zara being tempted to give in.

Chandler leant closer, inches from Zara, where she could tell he was enjoying this far too much.

"A kiss won't work, you know," Zara told him.

But Chandler kissed her instead as she felt his fingers on her jaw, softly pulling her closer to him. Though, as Zara broke the kiss, she did let her head fall into the crook of his neck as his arm wrapped back around her again.

"That's all you get," Zara decided.

Chandler sighed. "You're gonna kill me."

Zara smiled at that, enjoying it a little too. "You know you could always give up the apartment now," she reminded him. "If it helps, I'm wearing that matching set you like. The red one..."

Chandler groaned, resting his head on top of Zara's as she laughed.

♡

The next morning, Zara and Monica headed over to their old apartment, knowing everyone would be hanging out there. Already as they entered, they were proved right as Joey and Phoebe were in the kitchen together with Chandler, Toby, and Ross at the foosball table.

"Hey, Mon, Zara," Joey greeted them. "Want pancakes?"

"You made pancakes?" Monica questioned, shocked.

"Of course I want pancakes," Zara replied.

"Grab a plate," Joey told them.

Monica was first to reach a plate as Zara found her eyes on Chandler again, where the two shared a secret smile, knowing that they had missed sleeping with each other again. Chandler offered her a plate, hoping it was enough to keep her happy.

"No, no," Joey instructed them. "Stay right there."

But, as Joey flipped the pancake, it shot over Monica and Zara's heads, landing on the floor with a splat.

"Getting closer," Joey said.

"So close," Zara agreed, sarcastically.

"Okay, okay," said Chandler. "But don't worry because we also have cereals, muffins, waffles, and jams, jellies, and marmalades, which I'm fairly certain are the same thing." Then he turned, eyes falling on Zara. "Honey, I also got you chocolate milk and blueberries."

"Oh," Zara said, touched. "Really?"

"And snacks to help you write today," Chandler added.

Zara felt her heart soften, but she also felt Monica's burning gaze.

"Listen, also, we're watching the game here Saturday night if people want to come over," Joey offered.

"For sure," Toby said.

"Oh, yeah," Ross agreed.

"I was thinking about having people over for the game," Monica said.

"Oh, yeah?" Joey questioned. "Who's playing?"

Zara tried mouthing the teams to her friend, but Toby almost caught her.

"The players," Monica said instead.

"Somebody seems to be missing being the hostess," Ross realised, placing his hands on his sister's shoulders.

Monica chuckled, but they all knew it was true. "Please. It's a relief, is what it is! Is what it is."

"All right," said Joey. "Pheebs, stick out your plate."

Phoebe stood backwards with her plate as Joey flipped the pancake, too which she caught with her hand. Hungry herself, Zara sat down next to Chandler as he opened the blueberries for her with the next pancake being made.

♡

When Chandler finished work that day, he found Zara working in his bedroom, which had once been Rachel's. It was strange; Zara didn't like it, but she had gotten on with it.

"You can't be here," Chandler told her.

Zara shrugged, unbothered. "It's better than my empty old room."

"But," protested Chandler, moving to the bed as he abruptly sat down. "You can't be sitting on my bed."

"Why not?" Zara challenged.

"Because!" Chandler exclaimed.

"Because?" Zara repeated.

"You won't have sex with me," Chandler reminded her.

Zara laughed at that. "Oh, Chandler, it really doesn't take a lot to torture you, does it?"

"When it comes to you? No, not really," Chandler told her.

That caused Zara to smile as she temporarily put her laptop down. Zara pulled Chandler by his blazar towards her as they both fell back onto the mattress. Hovering above her, Chandler brushed the hair from Zara's face.

"Does this mean..."

"Will you give us our apartment back?" Zara asked.

Chandler sighed, having no response as he simply just kissed his girlfriend. Though, even for Zara, it was hard not to escalate things between them. The two pulled away to sit up on the bed, adjusting themselves before Chandler was tugging her towards him, wrapping his arm around her.

"If we can't have sex, then can I see what you've written?" Chandler asked.

"I don't know if you'd want to," Zara told him. "It's coming up to the end of the book, so a lot is happening. You haven't even met Nina yet."

"Can I read the first chapter then?" Chandler questioned.

"Okay," Zara agreed. "Remember it's not final yet."

Chandler grinned in excitement, knowing he'd love it even if it was just a shopping list that Zara had written. This time, Zara hadn't let any of her friends glimpse at her work, where she wanted them to have the big surprise of reading the final version.

Still, it felt right that Chandler got that first glimpse. Plus, Zara was eager to see what he thought of Nina, who was a little stubborn and opinionated but had a soft spot for Ruby (even if it was questionable). Nina was a student at the School for Villians but believed the villains were misunderstood and deserved a choice to be good or bad, though a lot of them didn't have a choice.

Though, as Ruby and Nina became close, Zara felt bad to finish the book with Nina betraying Ruby, unable to take that step to change the way the world works. It was cruel, but Zara loved the two being frenemies.

"So what's Nina's power?" Chandler questioned once he was finished.

"I'm not spoiling that," Zara told him.

"I knew it," Chandler said, sighing. "You know, this is good, Zara. Really good."

"It's just the first chapter," Zara pointed out.

"Yeah, but there's a lot going on already," Chandler told her. "It's not just a book anymore. It's a series now."

"I know," said Zara, leaning her back against his side. "There's so much more pressure now."

"If anyone's got this, it's you," Chandler reassured her.

Zara smiled at the words, believing in them, but she was still nervous about wrapping up her second book and handing it in. This time around, there was already hype surrounding the sequel, and she didn't want to let anyone — including herself — down.

♡

Eventually — once Zara was finished writing — they headed out to the living room area, seeing that the three guys were eating pizza. Zara would have complained that no one ordered a pizza for her, but Chandler and Zara were going to get dinner out together.

Really, it was a tactic so Chandler wouldn't end up giving up the apartment and Zara wouldn't end up sleeping with her boyfriend.

One way or another, Chandler would give in.

Rachel's eyes narrowed at the two. "What were you guys doing in there?"

"Not what you think," Zara reassured her.

"Unfortunately," Chandler mumbled.

Joey now looked at Chandler, sternly, as he pointed a finger at him. "Stay strong."

"What's going on?" Ross asked.

"Chandler can only sleep with me if he gives the apartment back," Zara explained. "It's only a matter of time before he gives in."

"Did you try the—"

"No," Chandler cut Rachel off. "Don't finish that. I don't want to know."

"Neither do I," Toby joined in.

Zara grinned, patting Chandler's head. "You already know, honey."

That caused Chandler to frown, struggling to keep his eyes focused on just her face as she wondered where his mind was going.

"Oh, I know," Phoebe said with a smile.

Zara looked at her friend. "Do you?"

"I know all your tactics, Zara Ellison," said Phoebe, but then she became distracted. "Oh, what do I smell?"

"I don't know, but it smells good," Joey noticed it too.

Zara thought that perhaps it was just Joey and Phoebe being pregnant, but she was catching onto the sweet smell too. As Joey stood to open the front door, Monica was standing in the doorway with a fan that she tried to hide before Zara's eyes fell on the cookies.

"Fresh cookies, hot from the oven," Monica told them. "Please have some."

As they wandered into the apartment, Zara helped herself to a cookie before her eyes fell on the apartment.

"I've just been fiddling around in here making delicious treats for everyone," Monica continued.

"Oh, the new Playboy," Joey noticed, picking up a magazine.

"Yeah," said Monica. "Just something I picked up."

"Cookies and porn," Ross said. "You're the best mom ever!"

Sitting down at the table, Rachel burst out laughing.

"What? What?" Phoebe questioned.

"Nothing," Rachel replied. "Just something Joshua said about V necks. But you had to be there."

"Joshua?" Zara questioned.

"You had to be there," Toby told her.

"Yeah, how does, uh, Jason look in a V neck?" Ross asked.

"Oh," Zara realised. "There's a Joshua."

"It's Joshua," Rachel corrected him.

"Oh, whatever," Ross said, trying too hard to show he didn't care, but they were all looking at him.

As Ross was quick to leave, Joey and Toby followed. Joey picked up a plate of cookies with Monica wanting to chase after them.

"Wait... wait..." Monica called after them. "This... this isn't takeout."

"Well, hate to eat and run," Phoebe stood next.

"Mon, Chandler and I are going out..."

"No, wait," Monica pleaded. "Please don't go. I've got porn for you, too."

"What kind of porn?" Chandler asked.

"I don't need it," Phoebe decided.

"I do," Chandler insisted. "My girlfriend doesn't want to sleep with me, so I do."

"Go get our coats," Zara told her boyfriend. "Please."

"But porn," Chandler whined.

"Chandler," Zara replied, frowning.

Sighing, Chandler disappeared with Zara noticing that Monica was upset, like they all were over the downgraded move.

"People are supposed to want to hang out here," Monica complained.

"Why?" Rachel asked. "Honey, what is the big deal?"

"I'm the hostess," Monica exclaimed. "Not those guys. I'm always the hostess. I mean, even when I was little, I mean the... the girls brought their dollies to my tea party. I served the best air."

"Well, why did you make a whole big thing out of, you know, everyone has to hang out in the big apartment?" Phoebe questioned.

"Yeah, you told Joey to do this, Mon," Zara reminded her.

"Because they took our apartment," Monica replied. "I wanted to punish them. I'm-I'm done now. They-they've suffered enough."

"But if you wanted to punish them, you should have just made them hang out here," Phoebe said.

"All right then," Monica decided. "When I'm finished with this place, it's going to be ten times better than that place."

"Oh, are we going to trash their place?" Phoebe asked.

"Hopefully by the end of the night, Mon," said Zara. "We'll be moving back to our apartment. Chandler's going to break."

"You know, he's holding up more than I thought he would," Rachel said.

"I know," Zara agreed. "But tonight might change."

"You're going commando under your dress, aren't you?" Monica guessed.

Zara grinned, but Chandler joined them again as his eyes fell on Zara. He was clutching onto her coat, where his eyes were suddenly glued to the silky black dress Zara was wearing.

Monica laughed. "I think we're getting the apartment back tonight."

♡

Honestly, Zara was a little dumbstruck that her tactics weren't tricking her boyfriend into sleeping with her — or, more importantly, from getting their apartment back.

So, because of that, Zara was avoiding Chandler.

She would not be the one to give in.

"Okay, for next time," said Joey, trying to help Rachel. "What do you say?"

"I have an extra ticket," Rachel told him. "An extra ticket... not two tickets. I have an extra ticket."

Joey gave her a thumbs up. "Right."

"So, the first time you asked a guy out he, he turned you down?" Ross questioned.

"Ross," said Zara, looking at him. "How many years did it take you to finally ask Rachel out?"

Rachel turned in the chair to glare at him. "He didn't turn me down. He's at the game, isn't he? I got the date. I'm just not on it."

Zara didn't think that counted, but she stayed quiet, wanting to be the one to defend Rachel before she was in an even worse mood. Everyone said that Zara was scary when she was angry, but Zara thought Rachel was close too.

Monica opened the front door, looking exhausted. "Okay... it's ready. Come on."

"What's ready?" Joey questioned.

"Just come," Monica encouraged.

Zara was quick to notice that it was Toby who was the first to follow after Monica as she tried to hide her knowing smile. Then, the rest of them were following behind the two into the other apartment.

"Mon, you did all this?" Toby questioned.

"Oh my God," Ross said.

"Wow!" Rachel added.

"Mon... this is amazing," Zara said.

"This is beautiful," Ross told her.

"Oh, did you — what, did you work for two days straight?" Phoebe asked.

"Pretty much," Monica confessed. "So, what do you think of the floor?"

"I don't know," Joey answered. "Looks the same."

"You used to have carpet," Monica pointed out.

"Oh, yeah," Joey realised.

"So, I-I made snacks," Monica told them, gesturing to the table as they were all quick to help themselves. "Please, just hang out, okay. I-I'm just going to rest my eyes for a little bit."

"Mon, do you want us to, uh, come back later?" Ross questioned.

"Oh, no, no, no," said Monica, resting her head on the pillow as she lay on the sofa. "Stay, stay, stay. Just keep talking. I am always the hostess."

Zara smiled at that, but she turned to see Chandler entering the apartment. Catching her gaze, he smiled before greeting everyone. Though, Zara sensed something was wrong as she walked over to him.

"You okay?" Zara asked him as her hand reached out to touch him, holding onto his hand.

"Yeah," said Chandler. "I think so."

"You think so?" Zara pushed.

"I just miss you," Chandler confessed.

"Oh," Zara offered him a tiny smile, earning one from Chandler too. "You know, I miss you too."

"Can't we just forget about this?" Chandler asked, keeping quiet so no one else would overhear. "Stay with me tonight."

"Will you give us back the apartment?" Zara questioned.

"No, but—"

"Then we're still on a ban, Chandler," said Zara, knowing she was being stubbornly competitive right now. "No apartment, no sex."

"You're frustrating, Zara," Chandler told her.

Zara ginned. "Yeah, but you love me."

"Debatable at the moment," Chandler murmured.

But Zara only laughed, knowing that was far from the case.

♡

EPISODE FOURTEEN.

♡

"So, now, what is this now?" Phoebe asked.

Both Phoebe and Zara sat with Joey at the foosball table, intrigued by what was in his fishing bag.

"Googily worm," Joey told her as Phoebe giggled.

"And this?" Phoebe questioned.

"Glow pop jiggly jammer," Joey answered.

"That can't be true," Zara insisted.

"But it is," Joey replied.

"Bait is so funny," Phoebe said as she laughed.

"It is," Zara agreed. "This is going in my book. Ruby and her dad can fish together."

"Dad as in villain dad or adoptive dad?" Joey questioned. "I'm only agreeing if it's the right dad!"

Zara opened her mouth, but Joey's eyes widened.

"No, don't spoil it!" Joey exclaimed.

"I wasn't going to," Zara reassured him. "You'll have to wait and see."

"Hey, um," said Monica, joining them as she picked up another bait. "What's this?"

"Oh, a hunk of sandwich from last year," Joey realised.

Monica was quick to drop the piece as Zara's face screwed up in disgust.

"Oh, Geller's got one hooked!" Ross cried out, holding onto a fishing line.

"But Malone's gonna beat you!" Toby was joining in with his own line.

"Oh! Looks like a big one!" Ross continued. "Uh-oh, it's the classic struggle between man and..."

But as the two fought over an imaginary fish, the light on the table was knocked over. Both Ross and Toby were quick to drop their fishing rods, where Toby suddenly looked afraid.

"Someone knocked over a lamp," Ross said.

"It wasn't me," Toby added.

"Hey, you guys, you know what's going to be great about the fishing trip this year?" Joey questioned as he picked up the rods, breaking them down again to be packed. "When my dad gets me out in the middle of the lake and gives me that 'Joey, what are you doing with your life?' stuff. I can say: 'well, I'm doing a movie with Charlton Heston, Dad. What are you doing with your life?'."

Zara was happy at that, knowing there had been that awkwardness with their break up, and she still hated the fact that she had hurt him. At least, his career was starting to take off again now.

Chandler came out of the bedroom with the duck and chick following.

Catching them, Zara's eyebrows rose. "I see you've replaced me."

"If you won't sleep with me, they will," Chandler said before pausing as he realised what he said. "I get lonely, okay?"

"You know, you don't have to sleep alone," Zara reminded him.

"Chandler's not giving up the apartment," Joey spoke for him.

♡

With Joey gone, it was hard to not give in, so Zara made it known to Monica that they needed to be blocked. So, the group hung out that night with Zara's head resting in the crook of his neck, feeling his hand resting on her thigh.

His touch was hot and constant, but Zara would not give in.

Everyone else was in the kitchen, searching for food that Phoebe was craving.

"How did your meeting go?" Chandler questioned.

"Well," said Zara. "I think it's nearly finished, but they're reading over it now. They loved the end, though. And so do I."

It was end full of betrayal: Nina had spent the book befriending Ruby just to get close to her to use her, so that had stung for poor Ruby, sparking the nemesis between them; then, Ruby had chosen to return to her adoptive parents but she's forced into working for villainous parents to save those she loved.

"When do I get to read it?" Chandler asked.

"I guess you can now," Zara realised. "Unless you wanted to wait for the advanced copy."

"Oh, no, I don't want to wait," said Chandler. "You've left me waiting long enough."

Zara turned her head, meeting his gaze. "You should be used to waiting with me."

"You'd think, but you make me even more impatient," Chandler told her. "At least this time I can say my girlfriend's just finished a book."

"Yeah, that's true," Zara said, feeling her heart pound.

"I'm so proud of you," Chandler said. "I could show you how proud..."

Zara caught his smirk, and she ended up laughing. "Don't tempt me, Bing."

"Why?" Chandler challenged. "About to give in?"

"Nope," Zara told him. "But I'll let you kiss me."

Chandler looked ready to protest, but Zara leant forward to close the distance between them with a kiss. Maybe she didn't want to officially say she was done with book two until they could officially celebrate together.

"When it's official," Zara told him. "We'll do that thing we always wanted to do."

That caused Chandler's face to drop with Zara knowing he was truly on the edge of giving in now. Maybe Zara wanted to be worth giving up the apartment for.

The front door opened as Joey returned home and they were all quick to welcome him back. Zara sat up from Chandler, where she felt his hand fall onto her back.

"Have a good time?" Phoebe asked.

"Catch a big one?" Ross questioned.

"Oh, God, you guys have no idea," Joey said.

Monica, Ross, Phoebe, and Toby were quick to step away from him. At their reaction, Zara and Chandler decided to remain sitting.

"Wow, you stink!" Monica exclaimed.

"Are you kidding?" Ross questioned.

"What is that?" Toby added.

"Yeah, three days on the lake without a shower," Joey told them. "Plus, I fell into that big tub of worms at the bait stand."

"Please don't come over here," Zara pleaded.

Joey stepped closer towards them with Chandler scrambling to stand, pulling Zara with him. "No, no."

"What?" Joey questioned, grinning. "Don't you want a hug?"

Chandler hid behind Zara. "No, I really don't."

"That's too bad," said Joey. "Alright, I got to go memorize my lines. Me and Charlton Heston, bright and early tomorrow, baby!"

As Joey left, Rachel came in to join them.

"Uh-oh," Monica noticed her face. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, it's... Joshua invited me to this fancy club opening tonight," Rachel told them. "But I already told Mr Waltham that I would take his niece to the dumb old opera, so... what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, sweetie," Monica advised her.

"No! Help me!" Rachel exclaimed.

"I can't," Monica said. "I have to work."

Rachel turned to her blonde friend. "Phoebe?"

"I would, but I get morning sickness in the evening," Phoebe explained. "Unless... she wants to spend the night holding my hair back for me."

Zara hid behind Chandler now, slowly pulling him towards his bedroom in the hope to escape.

"Zara?" Rachel questioned.

"Uh, I can't," Zara told her. "Chandler's taking me out."

"I am?" Chandler questioned.

"Yeah," said Zara, elbowing him. "For finishing my book."

"Does that mean we get to—"

Zara elbowed him lightly again, shutting him up.

"You finished your book?" Monica questioned.

"Wait, you're done?" Toby caught on. "Why didn't you say?"

"Kind off," Zara answered. "It's not official this time until my publishers say, so I wasn't going to say anything."

"Toby!" Rachel rounded on him. "You must be free!"

"Not tonight," Toby told her. "Oh, gosh, you guys, come on," Rachel said. "This is... I have to meet Joshua. This is my one chance for him to see the fun Rachel. You know, wouldn't it be great if she were my wife Rachel? Oh, all right. Is Joey back?"

"Joey's that thing you smell," Monica told her.

"Oh, that's..." Rachel said, eyes falling onto Ross. "Hi."

"Hi," Ross replied, a little smugly.

Rachel gave him a look. "So...?"

"No," Ross answered.

"Oh, come on," Rachel pleaded.

There was a knock on the door then.

"Bet she's here," Monica said.

"No, wait, wait, wait," Rachel stopped Monica from answering. "Ross, please!"

"You want me to take some girl I've never met to the opera?" Ross summarised. "So you can go to a club and flirt with some guy? Hmm... yeah, that-that is a toughie..."

"Oh, she's looking down the hall," Monica said, looking through the peephole before gasping and turning to them. "She looked right at me. Oh, wait, you can't see people through that little hole. Can you?" Then she was back up at the door again, peeking through. "Hello?"

"Hello?" A woman replied.

Monica shrieked, moving away from the door.

"Oh, I'll be right there!" Rachel cried out. "Okay, Ross, please, come on. I thought we had moved on. I thought we had gotten to a place where we could be happy for each other. Was that just me?"

"All right, I'll do it," Ross gave in.

"Oh, thank you," said Rachel. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Monica opened the door as Rachel approached her.

"Emily?"

"Oh, yes," said Emily.

"I'm Rachel Green."

"Thank goodness."

"Yeah," said Rachel, all smiley. "There's been a teeny, teeny change of plans. Turns out I'm not free tonight, so..."

"Really? Well, that's just lovely, isn't it?" Emily replied. "I must have missed your call even though I didn't leave the flat all day."

"Oh, well, no, I..."

"No, no, no," Emily cut her off. "That's not rude, it's perfectly in keeping with the trip where I'd already been run down by one of your wiener cars and been strip-searched at John F. Kennedy airport. Apparently to you people, I look like someone who's got a balloon full of cocaine stuffed up their bum."

Zara's eyebrows had risen, a little surprised by Emily.

"I-I-I think you look great," Monica told her.

"Good night," Emily told them. "It was very nice to meet you all."

Rachel was shocked as she turned to face them all. "I'll get her."

"Please hurry," Ross replied.

"So, don't you just love the way they talk?" Phoebe questioned. "Oh... uh, you know."

♡

The next morning, Joey was fleeing his apartment as Zara and Rachel were heading over. Catching the smell, Zara's face paled, though she felt green.

"Hey, oh, slow down," Rachel told him before realising. "No, keep moving."

"So, how did it go with Joshua last night?" Monica questioned.

"Wait till you hear," said Zara. "I'm so proud."

"Oh, well, I didn't see Joshua," Rachel explained as Zara was still grinning. "But I did punch a girl in the face."

"What?" Monica exclaimed.

"Why?" Phoebe demanded.

"It was pouring down with rain," Rachel started. "And when I got there, there was no Rachel Green on the list but there was a Rachel Greep."

"Oh, so did you get to meet her?" Phoebe asked.

"No, there is no Rachel Greep," Rachel replied. "But then this other girl overheard us and she was all, I'm Rachel Greep! I'm Rachel Greep! And he let her right in."

"So, you hit her in the face?" Monica guessed, shocked.

"No, she was already in," continued Rachel. "But then this big bitch behind me tried to steal my umbrella, so I clocked her."

"So proud," Zara said again.

"Oh! I can't believe this!" Rachel started pacing the apartment before she sat down on the armchair. "All I wanted was just a few hours outside of work to see Joshua so that he could go ahead and start falling in love with me."

"Oh..." Phoebe sympathised. "Pheebs."

"Honey, that's your name," Rachel reminded her.

"That's short for Phoebe?" Phoebe realised. "I thought that's just what we called each other."

"Oh, Phoebe," said Zara.

♡

Before leaving the apartment to head down to the coffee house, the phone started to ring while Chandler was hanging with her. Zara picked up the phone, having thought it might be her agent, Maxine.

On the phone, Zara tried to hide her smile from Chandler as he lingered, trying to catch snippets of the conversation. But, Maxine only had good news: the book was promising with just a few edits needed and the fall release had been green-lit.

Zara's books were being published in multiple languages too.

After Zara hung up, her eyes were on Chandler in shock.

"What?" Chandler questioned.

"I've finished," Zara told him. "It's being released in the fall."

Chandler smiled. "I knew you'd done it."

"But it's going to be printed in multiple languages," said Zara. "They want me to break the records I've already broken, apparently."

"If anyone can do it, it's you," Chandler reminded her, repeating himself as he fully believed in her.

"What if I'm not good enough for the world?" Zara questioned.

"I think it's more the world isn't good enough for you," Chandler said, stepping closer to her as his hands cupped her jaw, smiling brightly. "You deserve this, Zara."

Zara leant up on her tiptoes to kiss him, knowing she had worked hard to get where she was now, but she never thought reaching the stars like this would be possible.

"I love you," Chandler told her after. "I guess I better keep reminding you of that before you realise you're going to be famous enough to get whoever you want."

"Oh, do you think I'll finally get a chance with Yasmine Bleeth?" Zara questioned.

Chandler frowned at that with his eyes flaring with panic.

Zara laughed at him. "Chandler, I love you," she reminded him. "I only want you."

His smile returned. "I guess I'm the luckiest man alive then."

"You are," Zara told him. "But I'm still not sleeping with you."

♡

Who do you think is going to give in first?Honestly, it's impressive Chandler hasn't. They truly melt my heart.